KARACHI:
Nine years ago, we witnessed the gruesome Baldia factory fire in Karachi. As many as 260 innocent workers lost their lives in the incident. Even today, relatives mourn the losses of their loved ones and continue the fight for justice. However, it is also a stark reminder of the authorities’ negligence towards ensuring labour rights.
Only a few weeks earlier, another factory in Karachi suffered from a major fire which took the lives of several workers. This goes to show that not much has changed for factory workers residing in the financial hub of the country. Factory owners have not enforced any laws to ensure the safety and protection of workers. No precautionary measures are taken in factories where hundreds of workers continue to risk their lives for minimum wages. An absence of regulatory checks and lack of stern punishment for the negligence of safety measures further provides leverage to those responsible.
I urge the government and authorities to ensure that justice is served to the families of the victims of the Baldia factory. In addition, the government must take strict action against all those that enable such incidents to occur.
Balach Wahid
Makran
Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2021.
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